Flu bugs Bruins on first playoff practice day

Tuesday

Apr 15, 2014 at 1:39 PMApr 15, 2014 at 1:47 PM

After taking Monday off, the Bruins held their first practice on Tuesday in preparation for their Round 1 playoff series against the Red Wings. A flu bug that coach Claude Julien said began to surface over the weekend left the B's with a skeleton crew.

On second thought, the Bruins are pretty happy that they have until Friday before their playoff opener against Detroit.

Coach Claude Julien, who gave the B’s Monday off, didn’t even have a full team on the ice for Tuesday’s first post-season practice. Between players known or thought to be injured (no injury info is dispensed during the playoffs) and a flug bug that Julien said started worming its way into the dressing room over the weekend, there were only 10 forwards, 5 defensemen and goalies Tuukka Rask and Chad Johnson on the ice for about a 45-minute practice at TD Garden.

Only one line – the top offensive trio of Milan Lucic, David Krejci and Jarome Iginla – was intact. The same was the case with the defense pairs Julien used most often down the stretch – only Zdeno Chara and Dougie Hamilton were able to stay together.

The forwards absent from practice were:

- Daniel Paille, who left Saturday’s game against Buffalo after taking a check to the head.

- Chris Kelly, who hasn’t played since last Tuesday at Minnesota because of a back injury.

- Patrice Bergeron, who didn’t play Saturday’s third period or Sunday at New Jersey because of something Julien said is “very minor.”

- Loui Eriksson

Brad Marchand, Carl Soderberg and Reilly Smith comprised a second line (Soderberg subbing for Bergeron), and a four-man fourth line had Jordan Caron and Justin Florek (the latter recalled from AHL Providence on an emergency basis) skating with Merlot Line regulars Gregory Campbell and Shawn Thornton.